Baseball History, Commentary and Analysis

Ten Facts About Mets Ace Matt Harvey

Matt Harvey, who has begun his 2015 comeback campaign with a perfect record of 5-0, is certainly a candidate to win the N.L. Cy Young award this season. Through his first 34 innings pitched, he has struck out 34 batters while walking just four. He is currently averaging 8.5 strikeouts per walk, and (having been slated to make just 30 starts this season) is on pace to walk fewer than 30 batters this year.

So, yeah, he’s pretty good.

Here are ten other things you might not be aware regarding Matt Harvey:

1) He has never been charged with an error in his career.

2) He has never surrendered a grand slam homer in his career (and only one three-run homer.)

3) He has never been charged with a balk.

4) Only once has he ever intentionally walked a batter.

5) He grew up as a Yankees fan (well, no one’s perfect.)

6) He was the seventh pick in the first round of the 2010 amateur draft. The first six players selected before him were, in order, Bryce Harper, Jameson Tailon, Manny Machado, Christian Colon, Drew Pomeranz, and Barret Loux.

7) According to Baseball-Reference.com, the pitcher whose career, through age 24, most closely resembles that of Matt Harvey is Hall of Famer “Big Ed” Walsh of the early twentieth-century White Sox.

8) His father was a collegiate athlete, playing both baseball and football at the University of Connecticut.

9) Harvey shares a birthday (March 27th) with Hall of Fame manager Miller Huggins, and with teammate Mike Cuddyer (though Cuddyer was born a decade earlier.)

10) The 1,067 batters who have faced Matt Harvey have hit a combined .191 against him.

Even as Tommy John Surgery seems to have become ubiquitous, there remain varying levels of recovery from it. It certainly looks for all the world like Harvey’s recovery is as good as it gets! Of course it also looks like, as was always inevitable, the Mets are coming back down to earth at least a bit after that torrid start.

Thanks, Mike. Yes, the Mets are (predictably) looking a lot more mediocre these days. Basically, they lack one more serious bat in their lineup. The pitching is there, but they can’t be expected to pitch this well all season without much run support.
Cheers,
Bill